Computer training treatment improves reality monitoring in patients with schizophrenia

A new study has revealed a potential treatment breakthrough for those suffering from schizophrenia. Researchers assessed schizophrenia patients prior to and following an 80-hour, 16-week computer training treatment. They found that after training, patients showed improvements in their ability to complete complex reality-monitoring tasks. These improvements in completing the tasks are related to an increased activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which supports the successful distinguishing between what is reality and what is not. A control group that did not participate in any sort of cognitive training showed no improvement. "Our study is the first to demonstrate that neuroscience-informed cognitive training can lead to more 'normal' brain-behavior associations in patients with schizophrenia, which in turn predict better social functioning months later," explained Dr. Sophia Vinogradov, senior author of the study, in a press release.